Reborn Ming Dynasty as Emperor

Chapter 541 The First Opium War Negotiations Begin

A few months ago, Cromwell was the most glorious minister in the entire English Stuart dynasty, and he was also the hottest boss under one man and above ten thousand.

But now, he had to accept the fate of going to jail, and accepting that he was the culprit who instigated the king to provoke the relationship between Ming and Britain, and he was stripped of all positions and titles by the most trusted king Charles I.

Before Cromwell was imprisoned, Charles I personally met him. Seeing Cromwell's stubbled face and forehead still with gunshot wounds, he couldn't help but pat Cromwell's face. shoulder, sighed:

"Don't worry, I will let you out after the wind has passed, and then I will let you control the most elite troops for me!"

Cromwell nodded, knowing that Charles I had no choice but to dismiss him and investigate him. Seeing that Charles I explained to him in person, he was also very moved, and directly bowed deeply to Charles I, then dragged The chains went to the jail.

Cromwell didn't want to say anything, and he didn't mean to hate Charles I. He knew that the fleet of the Ming Empire had already pointed at the city of London, and could even hit the palace with one shot, and there was also an army of the Ming Empire that had also arrived in London. Under the circumstances, if he wants to continue to rule as a king, he can only be wronged, and he, the culprit who offended Daming, can only be punished.

Cromwell never thought that such a day would come. He knew that the Ming Empire in the east was not a country to be underestimated. He had heard legends about this ancient empire since he could remember, but he never thought that this empire would be One day affect the situation in Europe.

The ambush encountered by the Ming army on the way back from Birmingham to aid the city of London a few days ago also made him fully realize the huge gap between his British Empire and this ancient Eastern Empire, not just the gap in combat quality and equipment, There is also a gap in command ability.

His subordinates are all British people at the bottom, and they can be regarded as troops that have withstood the test. Otherwise, they would not be able to keep the troops from being scattered while running throughout the UK, but compared to the Ming army, they are still much worse. , People can run back and forth and capture a city, and their shooting accuracy and fighting skills are also superior to their own soldiers.

Cromwell did not tell Charles I of his doubts and new understanding of the Ming Empire, because after experiencing this war, he found that the Stuart dynasty had seriously hindered the development of the British Empire, causing the British Empire to become The gap with Daming is so huge.

However, the stupid King Charles I of the Stuart dynasty still limited his attention to the struggles among the several countries in Europe. Change the meaning of the British Empire.

Cromwell's disappointment with Charles I made him want to replace him with Charles I, but now he can only be a prisoner and hide his ambition in his heart.

Just when Cromwell sighed in prison that he had been sitting in a well and thinking about how to reform the British Empire.

Here, the negotiations between the Ming Empire and England officially kicked off.

In later history, many scholars habitually referred to this war as the first Opium War, because the core of the entire war event was about the opium trade.

Of course, the reason why it is called the First Opium War shows that the disputes that broke out because of the opium trade were more than this time, and the intensity was no less than this time.

Westminster Abbey.

That is, the current Big Ben is where the Elizabeth Tower is located.

The Great Front Hall of Westminster Abbey officially became the venue for negotiations between the Ming Empire and the English Stuart Dynasty.

The traditional European-style long table is placed horizontally in the center, and there is a large groove in the center. Various flowers and plants are placed in the groove, and candles and glasses are placed on both sides.

Representatives of Ming Dynasty Yang Sichang, Hei Wa, Li Dingguo, Wang Guangting, Sheng Shiwen, etc. sat on the side near the window, and representatives of England, Prince Edward, Earl of Nassley, and Baron Sija sat on the side near the murals.

"I, Ming, have no intention of launching this war. His Majesty the Emperor of Ming has even repeatedly emphasized the need to maintain world peace. He has long been in love with His Majesty King Charles I of your country. He often praises His Majesty Your Majesty's courtesy and understanding with us. , and I am very happy that the people of England have such a wise monarch, but what I didn't expect was that the king of your country was deceived by the treacherous ministers, which destroyed the friendly relationship between my Ming and your country. Now that the treacherous ministers have been imprisoned, we Naturally, the Ming Empire will no longer interfere in the affairs of other countries, but the other countries must also compensate us for the losses suffered by the Ming Empire and show some sincerity."

In order to fulfill His Majesty's entrustment, Yang Sichang, who was a hawk, had no choice but to hold back his temper, and actually expressed some kindness to the British representative.

After the interpretation finished, Prince Edward also showed a harmless smile on his face. He was very grateful for the sudden kindness expressed by the high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty who had been arrogant and domineering and even killed the king's bodyguard in the palace. , and said very politely:

"What your excellency said is very true. There is indeed a misunderstanding between our two countries. Our king has no enmity towards the other country, but he was bewitched by this hateful guy, Cromwell. Now that the two sides have a truce, it is natural to have a good fight. Let’s talk about it, we can also talk about the compensation, but my Stuart dynasty is only a tiny place, so it’s naturally not as good as your country, so I ask your country to see that the people in our country are still in a difficult situation. Too much is better."

After hearing this, Yang Sichang just waved his hands: "Don't talk about these things. The people in your country are living hard because of the treacherous ministers. Now that the traitors have been eliminated, it will naturally get better, but the sudden ban on smoking in the other country will greatly affect the lives of the people in our country. At least, there are even a few lives lost here, and you can’t do it without an explanation.”

As he said that, Yang Sichang asked his staff to take out the draft he had already drawn up, and threw it directly to Prince Edward: "This is the opinion drafted by the official according to the will of His Majesty, and according to the actual situation of your country as appropriate. It was written after consideration of the situation, you can read it first, I have only one principle, the clauses in this opinion letter can only be increased, but cannot be changed!"

After hearing this, Prince Edward was rather annoyed, thinking to himself that this is not a negotiation, but a direct request.

However, now that the situation was stronger than others, he had no choice but to hold back, squeezed out a smile, and looked at Yang Sichang's opinion seriously.

This Prince Edward is one of the few people who can know some Chinese. After all, Ming Dynasty has opened up trade in the West for more than ten years. It is not unusual for some Western nobles to start to know Chinese.

But when Prince Edward saw the first article, he couldn't help frowning, and had the urge to throw this opinion directly on Yang Sichang's face.

(End of this chapter)